Galileo’s Halloween Traditions

Last Friday, students saw the annual Halloween Costume Contest during lunch. However, many students don’t know that there are actually a number of Halloween traditions at Galileo.

Halloween Costume Contest

Over the past 12 years, the ASB holds an annual costume contest in the courtyard at lunch. Participants walk down the walkway to the courtyard where ASB officers rate their costumes from a scale of 1 to 10; scores are based on their creativity and detail of their costumes. There are two contests, one for students and one for staff, where prizes are given to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. This year, the prizes were $5 ASB gift certificates. “[The tradition] is something why teachers are so happy during Halloween because they have lots of school spirit,” said ASB Advisor, Mr. Eugene Wing.

Flash Mob
4 years ago, Spanish teacher, Ms. Laux decided to start a flash mob dance right after the Halloween costume contest as a way to get the teachers together to enjoy the holiday and show off their school spirit. Teachers who participate in the dance hold rehearsals during lunch and afterschool to give their best performance. But as of now, the dance is not known a flash mob anymore because people expect it now; the first time we did it was a flash mob. “This is my second Halloween dance and I think it was fun, but it is a lot of work and requires time commitment. It’s fun to go out there and surprise students because they see you in different ways and I like the element of surprise,” said Ms. Marshman.

Ms. Grinnell’s Distribution of Candy To Staff
Secretary, Ms. Grinnell has a tradition of giving out special Halloween treats to the staff. In the main office, there’s a candy jar on the table with a donation bin next to it; staff walk in and take a piece of candy and donate some coins if they desire. She has been doing this tradition for 19 years, starting in 1996. “It’s fun and enjoyable,” said Ms. Grinnell.

Ms. Fields’ Classroom Decorations
To fit in with the Halloween atmosphere, math teacher, Ms. Fields has a tradition of decorating her classroom with Halloween decor, including: graveyards, skeletal figures, skulls, artificial spiders and spider webs. She started the tradition 6 years ago, when she no longer had to move classrooms and had her own.
In addition, Ms. Fields has also been giving out Fair Trade Chocolate for the past years to her students because other chocolates are grown by slave labor children. “What’s better than dressing up and eating candy?” said Ms. Fields.